La La Land

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Rosemary DeWitt, and J.K. Simmons
Directed by: Damien Chazelle
Written by: Damien Chazelle

     LA folks rejoice!  Yet another movie set in our beloved city!
     This is the story about a young couple in modern day Los Angeles (one a jazz piano player and the other an aspiring actress).  As both become increasingly successful, they are faced with decisions that may threaten their relationship.  Honestly folks, there's not much new here with the story.
     Let me just begin by saying that despite that last sentence, this is my favorite movie of the year.  There are a number of movies that have been about this good, like Nocturnal Animals, Lion, or even Arrival, but La La Land takes the cake.  It's refreshing to see a new musical on the screen, especially one that's done in the style of a musical from decades past.
     The film opens up to a wonderful number atop one of Los Angeles's more famous freeway interchanges.  There are wonderful views of much of the city, but with a focus on the horrible gridlock those of us who live here are forced to deal with every day.  Traffic is terrible, actually completely stopped.  This opening number takes place completely on one of the transition ramps in this interchange.  It is wonderfully choreographed and a great introduction to the film.  It's also where we meet the two main characters, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling).
      The film is very clearly a throwback to older musicals, ones like MGM produced so many of in decades past.  It is done in a similar style to musicals such as Singin' in the Rain.  While it may not have particular numbers that may be remembered as well as numbers from Singin' in the Rain, it certainly has visuals and themes that will be remembered for years to come and will probably be studied in film history classes.  The characters are similar in their naivety and relationship compared to older musicals.  There is a great level of importance placed on color and lighting throughout the film that drastically enhance the tone of any particular theme.  There's even a dream sequence towards the end, something many musicals have.  It shows the possibility of what could have been once the viewer knows the reality.  There is wonderful singing and choreography all throughout the film.
     La La Land is a film that simply could not take place anywhere else, not only because of the locations it highlights, but because of the story itself.  An aspiring movie actress storyline would only make sense in Los Angeles.  So many of the scenes take place in iconic locations around the city.  Even some subtle jokes are hinted at regarding the weather and the seasons (or lack thereof).  Also, one of the many nicknames for Los Angeles just so happens to be la la land.  How fitting, that when you're as naive as these characters are that they say you're living in la la land.
     I give La La Land an A+.